Skip to main content

How To Unlock The Wisdom Of Your Stellar Performers


The book, The Star Factor, shows you a unique system for unlocking the wisdom of your stellar performers and transforming that knowledge into actionable steps to help other employees internalize these new attitudes and behaviors.

The system and methodology is called affirmative leadership. In the book, authors William Seidman and Richard Grbavac, explain the science, specifically the neuroscience, behind affirmative leadership.



They also outline the four phases of affirmative leadership:
  1. Discover - identifying your stars.
  2. Prepare - creating a learning program.
  3. Launch - using coaches to lead learning groups.
  4. Guided Practice - completing weekly practice exercises four to six months into the process.
Affirmative leadership can be used with a small group or globally for thousands of employees.

And just what is it that makes a star performer? Star performers:
  • Take advantage of every opportunity to learn.
  • Are skilled at filtering out what's irrelevant, and focusing on what will improve their performance.
  • Focus in on specific high-value information and resources and ignore the rest.
  • Instill their purpose in their people, creating a buzz of excitement and greater efficiency.
To help you identify your stars, including those less immediately obvious, the authors recommend you ask yourself these three questions:
  1. Who are the people you most respect for their ability to perform some or all of the functions associated with the initiative, program, or project?
  2. Are these the people you would go to if you needed to solve a critical problem or identify leadership for a new initiative, program, or project dealing with this function or area of expertise?
  3. If these people told you how to do something would you (a) believe them and (b) do whatever they said to do, without question?
Affirmative Leadership programs immerse participants in a new way of learning and leading that gradually, seamlessly, and very naturally becomes the new way of being.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership .  In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself.  It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust.  The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes.  In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter.  In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

Five Essential Principles For Sustaining Growth Through Innovation

Even though many companies strive for innovation, most struggle to achieve meaningful change. The largest reason for this disconnect? Playing it safe. Leaders and organizations want to implement new ideas, but too often they are held back by the fear of failure, even though setbacks are intrinsic to the innovation process. In the new book, No Fear, No Failure , by Lorraine H. Marchand (with John Hanc), readers will learn how to overcome the status quo that stifles creative thinking and how to create a culture that encourages innovation. Marchand provides a framework for sustained growth built on the “ 5 Cs ”:   Customer First Culture Collaboration Change Chance   She draws on more than 120 interviews with leaders across industries, real-world case studies, and her firsthand experience and shares step-by-step, field-tested strategies, tactics, and tools that practitioners can use to embed creativity within organizational cultures. Marchand is a former Big Tech and Big Pharma ex...

How To Achieve Real Optimism Even When Life Is Hard

  “Optimism is not about believing that everything will turn out the way you want it; that everything will go according to plan, or that positive thinking about the future can stave off disaster. It’s about accepting that life is hard—sometimes really hard—but it always has something to teach us,” explains Dr. Deepika Chopra , author of the new book, The Power Of Real Optimism: A Practical, Science Based Guide To Staying Resilient, Curious, And Open Even When Lie Is Hard . She adds, “If we can stay open to those lessons, we will survive.”  Why should we strive to become more optimistic? “Because, simply put, optimism improves our mental and physical health and makes us more able to face whatever life has in store while staying committed to our goals and values,” shares Dr. Chopra.  In this fresh, science-backed debut, professional psychologist and media expert Dr. Chopra shows us how to build the kind of optimism that can actually withstand real life. The book offe...

How To Create More Human Workplaces By Tackling Hidden Patterns

Most organizational change initiatives fail because they treat symptoms, not systems. Real transformation happens when you see and redesign the hidden patterns driving how work actually works.  “Hidden Patterns prioritize principles over procedures. Each pattern is a tested, fundamental idea, not a formula,” explains Clay Parker Jones , author of the new book, Hidden Patterns, A Playbook For More Human Workplaces . Based on behavioral science and real-world case studies, the book identifies 75 common organizational problems , the core solutions to each, and connected patterns to link sustainable improvements.   “If the examples or templates don’t seem immediately relevant, that’s fine,” shares Jones. “The core principle is what matters. Take the idea, apply it flexibly, and test it out. Make it your own.”  “In the book, you’ll find patterns that lay groundwork for healthier, more humane workplaces rather than prescriptive tactics masquerading as guaranteed quick fixes.” J...

Teach An Employee Something New Today

Take the opportunity today to teach an employee something new. Nearly everyone likes to learn and is capable of tackling a new challenge. Teach your employee something that expands their current job description. Teach something that will help them to get promoted within your organization at a later date. Teach them a skill that uses new technology. Or teach them something that will allow them to be a more skilled leader and manager in the future. You can even teach something that you no longer need to be doing in your position, but that will be a rewarding challenge/task for your employee. The  benefit  to your employee is obvious. The benefit to you is you'll have a more skilled team member who is capable of handling more work that can help you to grow your business and/or make it run more efficiently. Be a leader who teaches.

Best Reasons For Doing Employee Exit Interviews

Don't be the guy in the picture when an employee leaves your company. Instead, conduct exit interviews and surveys. Leigh Branham  explains in his book,  The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave , what the most favorable conditions are for conducting the interviews and surveys. And, if you need convincing to read the book, take a look at these 11 best reasons for listening and gathering the data when an employee leaves : Bringing any "push-factor" root-cause reasons for leaving to the surface. Alerting the organization to specific issues to be addressed. Giving the employee a chance to vent and gain a sense of closure. Giving the employee the opportunity to provide information that may help colleagues left behind. Providing information about competitors and their practices. Comparing information given with the results of past surveys and employee data. Detecting patterns and changes by year or by quarter. Obtaining information to help improve recruiting. Possibly heading off ...

Leadership Lessons From Kent Taylor, Founder Of Texas Roadhouse

From cover-to-cover of Made From Scratch you’ll learn the leadership lessons of the late Kent Taylor , founder of the restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse.  In the new book, Taylor recounts how he built the restaurant chain from the ground up after being rejected more than 80 times as he pitched the idea for the business.  His approach to business was often out-of-the-box, however, his business lessons and leadership lessons from the course of his life and career are invaluable.  Here are some of my favorite leadership lessons from Kent and his book:  The best leaders stay down-to-earth and approachable.  In a bottom-up company, the leader learns from frontline people.  As soon as you make a profit, find a way to give back.  Be willing to laugh at yourself.  Become a student of your craft.  Positive reinforcement inspires much greater performance than fear ever can.  Want to get the respect of your people? Then roll up y...

How To Be A More Human Leader

“To be most effective in today’s environment, leaders must be  human  leaders. Human leaders must be able to lead not only with their heads but also with their hearts and souls,” says veteran executive coach  Hortense le Gentil , author of the book,  The Unlocked Leader: Dare to Free Your Own Voice, Lead with Empathy, and Shine Your Light in the World .  She adds, “In addition to being respected, seen, and valued, employees also seek leaders who feel human, not distant and perfect beings with whom they can’t connect.”  Additionally, leaders need to put the collective interest before their own and work hard to make other people’s good ideas happen.  “And although the book focuses on leadership at work, each of us is a complete individual, not a sum of separate, isolated parts. As such, the process presented in the book applies to all areas of your life,” shares the author.  She further explains that becoming a human leader is a journey, not a desti...

29 People Who Taught Us Life Lessons In Courage, Integrity And Leadership

  The 29 profiles you will read in Robert L. Dilenschneider’s new book, Character , are about people who are exceptional exemplars of character. They’re inspirational because they used their abilities at their highest levels to work for causes they believed in. Because of character, they influenced the world for good.   The dictionary defines “character” as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, the distinctive nature of something, the quality of being individual in an interesting or unusual way, strength and originality in a person’s nature, and a person’s good reputation.   “But beyond these definitions, we know that character is manifested in leadership, innovation, resilience, change, courage, loyalty, breaking barriers, and more,” explains Robert (Bob), “Character drives the best traits in our society, such as honesty, integrity, leadership, and transparency, and it drives others to exhibit those qualities.”   Profiled in the book ar...

How To Stay Relevant In A Fast-Changing World

Alan Adamson , co-author of the new book, Shift Ahead , says that “the ability for companies and organizations to stay relevant is being significantly challenged by the accelerating pace of change – and new ways of doing things – that are emerging with every passing day.” At a speed of change unlike every before.  That’s why this book, sub-titled, How the Best Companies Stay Relevant in a Fast-Changing World , is a both a timely and pertinent read.  The book is based on the hands-on experience of both authors, Adamson, a branding expert, and Joel Steckel , a professor of marketing and vice dean of doctoral education at NYU Stern School of Business.  And most significant, it’s based on academic research and more than 100 interviews/case studies with senior management, business leaders and category experts from a wide spectrum of applicable fields who have lived through change or analyzed the phenomenon.  For example, you’ll discover the lessons learned ...